Incident
Vietnam: journalist Pham Doan Trang is sentenced to nine years for anti-state "propaganda"
Viet NamRSF rank: not recorded
A Vietnamese court sentenced Pham Doan Trang, founding editor of the independent outlet The Vietnamese, to nine years in prison for distributing anti-state "propaganda" under a national-security provision of the country's penal code.123
What happened
On December 14, 2021, a court in Vietnam sentenced Pham Doan Trang, founding editor of the independent publication The Vietnamese, to nine years in prison for distributing anti-state "propaganda" under Article 117 of Vietnam's penal code, a national-security provision the government has used repeatedly against independent writers and bloggers. The Committee to Protect Journalists had earlier honored Trang with its International Press Freedom Award. CPJ's senior Southeast Asia representative, Shawn Crispin, called for her release along with that of other journalists held in Vietnam, saying the country would be taken seriously as a global actor only once it stopped wrongfully imprisoning them. The nine-year term placed Trang among the longest-serving imprisoned journalists in Southeast Asia at the time of sentencing.123
Trang was sentenced to nine years in prison; the source reviewed does not report a subsequent release.123
What reason was given
Stated justificationNot stated in the sources reviewed as a specific account of the material Vietnamese authorities characterized as anti-state "propaganda."123
What changed for reporting
An award-winning independent editor received a nine-year sentence under a national-security law, removing one of Vietnam's most prominent independent journalistic voices from publication for a decade.3
Timeline
2021
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Nguyen Xuan Phuc | other | Prime Minister of Vietnam |
Outlets and journalists
| Name | Kind | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| The Vietnamese | outlet | affected |
| Pham Doan Trang | journalist, The Vietnamese | affected |
Sources
- CPJ calls on Vietnam authorities to release IPFA winner Pham Doan Trang
- Vietnam jails dissident journalist for 9 yrs over 'anti-state' acts
Claims and evidence
Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.
- The court sentenced Trang to nine years for distributing anti-state propaganda under Article 117.
9 years in prison
CPJ calls on Vietnam authorities to release IPFA winner Pham Doan Trang, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2022-08-16.Claim 591, checked 2026-09-22. - Trang was the founding editor of the independent publication The Vietnamese.
Founding editor of The Vietnamese, an independent publication
CPJ calls on Vietnam authorities to release IPFA winner Pham Doan Trang, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2022-08-16.Claim 592, checked 2026-09-22. - CPJ's Southeast Asia representative said Vietnam would be taken seriously as a global actor only once it released wrongfully held journalists.
The sooner Vietnam releases all of the journalists it wrongfully holds behind bars, the sooner it will be taken seriously as a responsible global actor
CPJ calls on Vietnam authorities to release IPFA winner Pham Doan Trang, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2022-08-16.Claim 593, checked 2026-09-22.